Footwear



June 2, 1942. w. P. s'roKER 2,284,930

i FOOTWEAR Filed Deo. 6, 1940 Patented June 2 1942 FOOTWEAR William P. Stoker, Beverly Hills, Calif. Application December 6, 1940, Serial No. 368,929

1 Claim.

This invention relates to footwear and has for an object to provide more particularly a sole for footwear, the sole being formed in two parts di- 'vided transversely to provide a heel, shank and ball portion in rone piece and a toe portion in another piece, the two piece sole being united {by -rubber bonding material which forms a joint permit bending or flexing at the toe portion to promote comfort, while the sole itself may be Lformed of wood, hardened plastic or other material impervious to being deformed by stones or t"other foo't, whi'le at the same time a minimum amount fof -inbber contacts the foot and thus eliminates fthe usual discomfort produced by rubber surrounding and touching the wearers foot.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will be formed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claim-ed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim ticles so that protection is afforded the Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention,

In the accompanying drawing forming a part rtf,

of this specification:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of a sole constructed in accordance with theinvention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the sole shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is alongitudinal sectional view of a modified form of sole suitable for slippers, canvas shoes and other footwear.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the sole shown in Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar .parts in the various views, lil designates the rear section and I I the front section of a two piece sole,

preferably formed of wood, hardened plastic or other rigid material. The rear section I0 and front section II are of uniform thickness and the rear section includes the heel, shank and ball of the sole in one integral piece, while the front section II comprises the toe portion of the sole, both sections being separated transversely. The two sections of the sole are beveled at their confronting edges to form a triangular space having its base in the plan'e of the bottom faces of the two sections and are connected together by a rubber bond of triangular cross section I2 extending between the confronting rear edge of the toe section II and front edge of the rear section It of thesole and projecting above the top face of the rubber sole. This rubber bonding material may be vulcanized or otherwise secured to the two sections of the sole and is of such characteristic as to be elastic and flexible to form a joint between the two sections of the sole adapted to bend, flex or yield to permit the sole to conform to movements of the foot in takl ing a step, without discomfort.

The bonding rubber material I2 may be cast,`

moulded or otherwise formed as an integral unit with a protective out sole I3 which may be formed with an integral heel I4, if desired, the out sole and heel beingrecessed on the top face to receive the two sections I0 and II of the protective sole, the recess providing a flange I5 all around the edge of the protective sole to which nange may be secured, in any preferred manner, the footwear upper, whether it be of rubber, leather, or other material.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figure 3, suitable for use in connection with bedroom slippers, canvas shoes or the like. The modified sole comprises two sole sections I6 and I'i formed of wood, hardened plastic or other rigid material, the rear section I6 including the heel, shank and kball portion of the sole, while the front section I1 includes the toe portion of the sole. The two sections I6 and I'I of the pro.

tective sole are completely enclosed in a canvas envelope I8 having a loop I9 formed therein and disposed transversely between the rear edge of the toe section I'IYand front edge of the rear section i6 of the protective sole. The bight or inner 'end 2E] of the loop is secured to the upper side of the envelope by a line of stitching 2|. The upper of the footwear may be secured to the envelope in any preferred manner.`

In all forms of theinvention it will be seen that a flexible joint exists between the two sections of the protective sole to permit the sole to conform to movements of the wearers foot, While at the same time a minimum of rubber touches the foot.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation. v

-What is claimed is:

In footwear, a rigid sole including an integral heel, shank,`fba`il section, and a toe section spaced from the ball section, a rubber sole below the rigid sole, the rigid sole being recessed into the rubber sole inside the outer edge of the rubber sole t0 provide a securing flange all around the edge of the rigid sole for the attachment of a shoe upper, the confronting edges of the toe section and ball section being beveled to provide a triangular space having its'base in the plane of the bottom faces of the ball section and the toe section, and a rubber bond of triangular cross section in said space projecting above the top face of the bottom sole and permitting the toe section to yield independently of the ball section during movements of the Wearers foot in taking a step.

WILLIAM P. STOKER. 

